Saturday diversion / Soho as “Hell's Hundred Acres” (Tribeca too!)

(pre-A.I.R., no less)
Did you know that the New York Public Library staff blogs? I didn’t, either.

This is from an April 22, 2011 post, A Helluva Town: The Origins of New York’s Hellish Place Names: (h/t @NabeWise on Twittter; someone else’s RT)

Following a series of terrible fires in the environs, some of which cost the lives of several firefighters, Fire Commissioner Edward Cavanagh coined the name to express his feelings about the major fire hazards and deteriorated conditions he considered perilous.

Today the neighborhood is remembered for its stylish dwellings and innovative art scene—and it is called SoHo. You can follow the neighborhood’s transition in the New York Times Historical database by searching the term "Hell’s Hundred Acres."  If you read the resulting articles in chronological order, you’ll see the stories shift from reports of fire violations, warnings from Cavanagh, and descriptions of hazards, to stories of artists organizing, urban renewal, and eventually creation of the term "SoHo."  In late 1962, the City Planning Commission called for a "South Houston Street survey," a study that surprisingly showed the neighborhood to be economically thriving despite its run-down reputation. Subsequent articles use the term "South Houston Industrial Area," and by 1970, "SoHo."  Unlike "Hell’s Kitchen", the moniker "Hell’s Hundred Acres" practically disappears.

I assumed this was an old name (really old, as in 19th Century or earlier), but it is far more recent. That Fire Commissioner served from 1954 to 1962! According to this ‘answer’ from the NY Times, the 100 acres also referred to (what is now Tribeca):

The seedy manufacturing district, roughly from City Hall to Houston Street, included sweatshops, painting and plumbing concerns, and a good many firetraps. Doors nailed shut and an absence of sprinklers were common. Injuries finally subsided in the 1960’s as manufacturing left the city and enforcement was increased.

© Sandy Mattingly 2011